Gov’t to adopt digital tools, AI in agriculture

The Marcos administration plans to adopt digital technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI), to modernize the country’s agriculture sector, according to the Philippine Development Report (PDR).

The report said that the modernization of the agriculture sector would involve the use of digital technologies to improve farm management.

“For instance, certain apps can include algorithms to inform farmers on when and how much fertilizer to use, integrate weather forecasts to determine the optimal timing for planting or harvesting, and so on,” the PDR said.

To support the adoption of digital technologies, the government plans to improve farmers’ access to the internet through the deployment of broadband infrastructure in rural areas, the PDR also said.

“The DA shall harness emerging technological innovations and solutions to provide timely data and information that are tailored to the needs of stakeholders, especially primary producers,” it said.

“Digitalization equips stakeholders and decision-makers with the tools and information to help improve productivity, cost-efficiency and timely delivery of services,” it added.

The government seeks to integrate all existing management information systems to provide farmers with “reliable” and “meaningful” insights about primary producers, production areas, sources of raw materials, logistics facilities, and markets.

Digital tools like remote sensing can also help improve farm practices as they can provide “timely” information on expected production, damage, and other factors related to weather, according to the report.

“The government will support the development of these applications and provide the training on how to use them,” it added.

“These technologies have potential applications in forecasting the supply volume of commodities and monitoring supply chain disruptions, pests and disease outbreaks, including damage and loss assessment in the aftermath of disasters,” the PDR also said.

The government vowed to create a framework or roadmap that would “harmonize” all existing data and information on remote-sensing technologies to effectively implement them in the agriculture sector.